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Reaction: Gas Prices Rise Throughout State

Gas prices that jumped sharply Friday fell back a bit over the weekend, but Monday saw new increases at the wholesale level. And retailers started raising prices again.

AAA reports an average price for regular lead-free gas in Indiana at just over three dollars and 96 cents a gallon. Prices around $4.25 have been seen in Indianapolis and elsewhere. The Great Lakes States have some of the highest prices in the nation.

Gasbuddy.com analyst Patrick DeHaan says refinery shutdowns in the area--and a panicked reaction from the market--have put tremendous pressure on supply. DeHaan says Gulf Coast suppliers are shipping their product to the region to take advantage of the higher prices.

That, ironically, could help bring those prices down. But DeHaan says it could take "a week or so" for that to happen.

Many consumers believe that companies and refineries use any type of potential crisis as a reason to jack up the price of gas at the pump. One consumer would like to see companies post on a daily basis their reasons for the current price of gas.

Industry officials say several refinery shutdowns and an explosion at a refinery in Detroit are the reasons for the current price mark up.

Another Fort Wayne consumer, who winters in Florida every year, says he doesn't understand why the price of gas is consistently higher in Indiana than it is down south.

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